The Truth About Muscle Loss When Dieting

People worry about the weirdest and most irrelevant things when dieting. When you’re dieting, your #1 goal is to lose weight (fat specifically), nothing more, nothing less. You should only be worried about how you’re going to create a calorie deficit for the day.

However minds begin to wonder, goals get distorted, and people begin coming up with these crazy “what if” scenarios.

“What if I eat less and my metabolism slows down?” – Nothing to worry about, covered that here.

“What if I lose weight but regain it all back?” – Then you’re not a very long-term minded person, are you?

“What if I go on a diet, become insanely sexy, and end up causing head-turning car collisions which in turn gets me arrested because of said sexiness and I get a life sentence in a maximum security prison?” – Completely legitimate concern, but that’s just a risk you have to be willing to take.

“What if I lose all my hard-earned muscle while dieting?” – Read the rest of the article.

Muscle loss while dieting is nothing to worry about

I completely understand people’s fear of losing muscle while dieting but the truth is that it’s nothing to worry about.

You see, muscle loss is transient. It’s not permanent.

So even if you do somehow manage to lose 5 pounds of muscle while dieting, whether it’s due to an illness, extremely low protein intake or lack of resistance training…you’re guaranteed regain that loss once you begin eating normal and resume resistance training.

This is all thanks to muscle memory, which unlike muscle confusion, is a real thing.

Why the hell are you worried about muscle loss?

As long as you’re getting an adequate amount of protein…

As long as you’re consistently weight training while on your diet…

As long as you don’t go on any crazy crash diets….

You’re probably not going to lose any muscle mass. And even if you do manage to lose some… the amount will be minuscule.

Focus on losing body fat, because that’s the hard part. Worrying about muscle loss is just counter-productive.

Once you’re at your desired level of leanness, gaining back any lost muscle will be a relatively easy thing to do.

It’s the mindset of “Oh I should eat more food because I’ll lose muscle” that’s hurting your progress. The only thing eating more food will do is make you fat.

Saying that you should eat more while dieting is just a lame cop out for those who don’t have the discipline of consistently eating less.

Wow this website is bad I feel like I need to warn people about your advice. You went from you won’t lose muscle while dieting to, you’ll lose a little muscle, to yes you’ll lose muscle but you just have to work out again. All of your articles are like this, this guy is a fraud.

I found this article to be pretty good general advice. I’m 41 and have been a slave to trying to build a lean, muscular physique since I was 17. That is a lot of experience with trial and error and I have found this article to be a good summation of the situation. Age is a MAJOR factor, however. After a diet my strength dwindles significantly so a couple of years, like always, I would eat more to re-coup that lost strength/muscle. I have really noticed in the past few years that still happens but now the fat comes back very easily because of the age. Last time I did my same old routine, increased my calories/food intake (it didn’t seem like I was overeating) and probably gained 30 fat pounds. And I was hardly stuffing myself either. I am ending another diet phase and my approach to bouncing back my strength will be eating only slightly more. Pounding the calories worked well when I was younger but getting 30 pounds off now takes 8 months, not 2 months like it did when I was young.

I’ve lost weight over time but I’ve lost muscle to I can’t eat I don’t feel good I have bonuses and sicknesses and I’m losing muscle and I work hard what can I do it’s not that I don’t try to eat it doesn’t taste good I’m five bites I’m done so how do I do that

Thanks for the reality check! For 9 years I’ve tried to lose weight “sustainably”, by slightly reducing calories. What a laugh. If I do it as experts recommend, it will take 2-3 years.

I recently decided to diet unsustainably (restricted portions) and found your website. I am seeing results I never saw when I merely tried to cultivate healthy eating habits and occassional desserts. Now, I look forward to faster weight loss! Whoever said not to crash diet realy misled me and wasted my time for 9 years!

I decided to get the weight of then deal with sustainability! Thanks for the brutal honesty!

I can even add that you don’t need THAT much protein to prevent muscle loss. Just go keto and/or intermittent fasting, and lose the damn fat. Furthermore, excessive protein intake can nerf your fat loss because of the insulin response.

Sometimes I would eat just 40 grams of protein in a whole day, and didn’t lose a single gram of muscle. Most days I would take around 60-80 grams of protein. ENOUGH.

THE REAL PROBLEM is that people overestimate their muscles. See, if you are 30% fat and have big arms, they are FULL OF FAT and once you get fit the arms will shrink in size, BUT WHO CARES, you will look a lot better without the fat surrounding every part of your body.

You do lose muscle during the diet phase no question about it. That is very easily recognizable with a tape or even the amount of weight you can easily lift in the gym.

That said, here’s what I do quite successfully:
day 1: Detox day with full unrestricted workout
day 2: Detox day with full unrestricted workout
day 3: Introduction of protein (50g) with 90% workout
day 4: Introduction of protein (50g) with 80% workout (getting weaker by the day and losing muscle)
day 5: Full protein (100g) with 75% workout (sustenance phase)
day 6: Full protein with some fats 85% workout (muscle sustenance)
day 7: Full protein with some fats and vegetables 90% workout (muscle gain)
day 8: Full protein with normal fats and vegetables 100% workout (muscle gain)

By day 9, I have lost 10 lbs and gained muscle back with a very decent metabolism.
I have done similar versions of this cramped into three days and 5 days.

when i did 1800 after a month i couldnt take it anymore and wound up going back to maintenance for like six months before i was ready to try again. I started at 187 with 24% BF and on 2100 calories a day for six weeks, 45mins cardio 3-4 times a week (sometimes HIIT sometimes not), weights 2 – 3 a week. If i feel the calories lacking hard (usually i can tell based on my running pace), then i take a rest day.

now i’m 176 19% BF. according to some online calculators, i should weigh about 160 with 13% BF and i’m 8 weeks away from my goal.

i feel like i could maintain this for a long time. I eat 2100 calories a day, and i can lose weight, train often, feel satisfied (never full) and even if i skip a meal (because i have a job and a life), i have enough glycogen to get through it..

I did a DEXA scan prior to my cut. After 3 months of cutting I lost 6lbs of muscles and 6 lbs of fats. I ate 1g of proteins a day, did my best to keep my strength when training, but still lost a ton of muscles. I worked my kcals slowly down to arrive at a deficit of 700 kcals per day. What do you think I did wrong?

Just wanted to comment that dexa would include glucose stored in muscle cells as ffm unless I am mistaken . Hence when cutting losing 4-5 lbs of this stored energy (especialy if using a lower carb diet) this is not actual muscle tissue, but rather fluid stored within the tissue which can fluctuate. So a more reasonable guess would be 6lbs of fat loss , 4 lbs of glycogen and 1-2 lbs of muscle loss. So dont worry bro.

So I’ve read a few of your articles within the past week and I figured I’d make a comment and see what you’d say, if that’s alright of course. I’m 17 years old, 6 foot 3 inches, 249 pounds, and slightly active. For about a month I was running for an hour or so everyday until my previous knee problems resurfaced because I jumped into that routine way too early, definitely a learning experince there. As of now, my exercise is about 40 minutes every other day in PE class where I break a sweat, but I know I should increase that time. Other than that, it’s just plain walking in between buildings at my school. So, I’ve generally been a big kid since my younger years but I’ve started to realize that, for appearance reasons and health reasons, I should cut down my eating in general and eat healthier options. I never tracked my eating before but recently I have been, for about 2 weeks now. I’ve been eating anywhere between 1,700-2,000 calories a day and have seen some results as of it as stated. At my last doctors appointment in November, I stepped on the scale and was 271 pounds, a complete shocker to me and that’s when I realized I needed to cut back. With cutting down and eating a little healthier, I’m 249 but would like to see that number around 220-230 or so. In short, for my situation and from your experience, is about 1,700 give or take 200 or so enough? Not enough? Bad? Alright? How about protein intake? From tracking my food, I get about 80-90 grams a day of protein. Is that also not enough? Enough? Alright? Sorry for the long paragraph, but I thank you in advance if you choose to respond 🙂

Protein is enough if you’re not weight lifting but I would recommend you to get a minimum of 2000 calories per day. 2000-2400 would be good.

But beyond tracking calories, at your age, your main goal should be to simply make healthier food choices. Just common sense stuff, like cut back on the junk food and stop drinking your calories from juice/soda and eat more veggies.

I really appreciate you taking your time to respond. I have been making healthier food choices such as more home prepared chicken breasts, lots of veggies, eggs, and I’ve definitely been staying away from fast food and soda. Thanks again man!

I need some clarification as to whether muscle memory set point is legitimate for someone who has lost weight through low calorie diets without lifting weights!!!

Here’s my story. 5 years ago back in 2012 I was 90kg at BMI 28 5″10.5 179 cm tall, male. I was addicted to junk food and coca cola back in college and uni. I gave up junk food and sugary drinks and stopped snacking and immediately dropped to 79kg naturally stayed there for 6 months before further going on a diet+exercise regime. I was overweight for 5 years of my life according to BMI before that I was always a healthy weight.

Anyway, I then went on a low calorie diet 1500 calories and cardio of 2 hours briskly walking and 20 minutes of running up the stairs in June 2013. I lost a lot of weight to about 62kg in 8 months in February 2014. During the process I simply added calories gradually all the way up to 2400 for maintenance every week but during that process I lost to 62kg without my intention. I wanted to remain at 64kg.

Anyway I maintained this 62kg weight successfully for 15 months without counting calories during my maintenance phase. Then I started doing 100-500 push ups a day and immediately I jumped to 64kg 2 months later, I believe this was muscle memory at that time. Because every month for 15 months when I weighed myself I was 62kg.

But now I haven’t weighed myself for over a year and in the past 2 years I went from 62kg to now 74kg.

According to this measurement I gained 11.5 kg of lean mass while gaining only 0.5 kg of fat mass. The only difference here is that I can’t fit in my old 28 inch skinny jeans. But I can still comfortably fit into my 30 inch skinny jeans perfectly with little to no tightness and visually I look and feel pretty much the same now at 74 kg compared to what I was 62 kg 2 years ago. I also look much slimmer at 74 kg now than when I was at 68 kg when comparing some of my old photos back in 2013.

Now my important question is this… Is it possible that I have regained 11 and a half kilos of lean mass without lifting weights during the last 2 years? I am assuming this is some of the weight I’ve lost due to low calorie diet where I must have lost fat and muscle simultaneously? This is very strange because I look leaner now at 74 kg but I also look much slimmer compared to 64-68 kg.

Is it possible that I have regained the lost lean mass naturally without lifting weights?! My lifestyle and eating habits past 3 years has been pretty much the same, I only walk 2 hours a day as part of day to day fitness.

Well I am 27 years old soon in less than 2 months I’ll be 28. I was 62 kg as of February 2014 to May 2015.

I have absolutely no idea what’s going on with my weight. It’s really strange, because I live with my parents and they are also shocked and can’t believe I am 74 kg as of today. They say that I look absolutely the same! All my photos on Facebook where I am at 68 kg in 2013 I look fatter visibly and a puffier face than now at 74 kg it feels like a 10 kg visual difference!

I still fit in 30 inch trousers, Extra Small size T-Shirts and I also wear an Extra Small size jacket for the last 3 years with no problems.

The only thing I have been doing is some abdominal crunches using a ball, but not regularly and some push-ups every once in a while. Plus everyday 2 hours of briskly walking for fitness and hobby reasons. But I have never ever gone to the gym or weight lifted in my life!

It seems somewhat legitimate by my skin-fold measurements but at the same time unexplainable. I have experienced absolutely no hunger tendency, always eating to fullness.

Because as you say in your article, muscle memory retention can only happen with weight lifting/resistance training. That’s why I am so confused right now how this is possible to happen without weight training. :/

Maybe I need to diet down a few kilos to see if there are significant changes but I feel a little discouraged now.

I was wondering if you could help me. I am a 60 yr female. In Aug 2016 I went on a weight loss program which doesn’t want you to do any exercise because you really only eat approximately 1000 calories a day. Now that I have reached my goal (lost 50 lbs) it seems i have lost muscle. I know some of the meal replacements have almost the same amount of carbs as they do protein. Can you suggest something for me to boost my muscles? When I went for a followup weigh-in my Extracellular muscle had decreased over a months period and I had been asked if I was drinking enough water. Well my water intake is a minimum of 96 ounces a day and sometimes 128. I know it has nothing to do with the water I drink so if you can give me some suggestions that would be great!

Over the past month and a half I have lost 13 lbs. I not weigh 118. I am 19, 5’6″, but still have belly fat I am really trying to get rid of. I have had back problems since a strain 2 months ago, and it is still healing so I cannot do weight training. I really want to cut some more weight while my back heals. I was thinking 3 more weeks of cutting. I have been eating 1300 cals per day, 100-115 G protein, am now increasing to 1400 and 120-130G. Since I haven’t been able to do weight training with the injury, should I abandon my weight loss goal? It’s really important to me that I cut some of this fat a little more. I was gonna keep going until my back heals enough to lift. Worried about losing too much muscle/not being able to heal the hurt back muscle while losing weight. Thoughts really appreciated.

You can still cut without lifting. But as you know, you’ll lose a bit of muscle. I actually think it’s fine tho, since you’ll lose fat as well, and once you start lifting again, you’ll quickly regain what you lost.

Thanks so much for your response. I definitely see that I can lose weight in the gut. However, I am at BMI 19 (with 18.5 being technically underweight). The DRs always encourage you to not go below that even if you do think there is some weight that can be lost before bulking. Do you think it’s safe to lose another 2-3 lbs or so, going down to that 18.5 bmi number and then bulk up, or do you think the back will only heal with slight strengthening exercises if I maintain weight now and then bulk up when I can start lifting?

I’m 5’8″ started at 156 lbs, 9 weeks in and I’ve lost 12 lbs (at 144 lbs now). I’ve been losing about 1.5 lbs/week with a 2 week work trip where I plateaued. My scale/bodyfat monitor has only gone from 20.3% BF to 17.6% BF, which indicates I’ve only lost about 4.1 lbs of fat. I’m trying to get to 14% BF but according to my scale I’m losing 2 lbs of lean body mass for each 1 lb of fat.

Also, I’ve been eating about 175 g of protein a day, lifting weights intensely 4 times a week, and doing cardio 2 times a week. I’ve seen about a 20-25% gain in the amount of weight I can lift.

Is the scale not measuring my bodyfat accurately, or why am I losing so much lean body mass each week and not fat? Mathematically, I thought I would be at 14% BF when I got to 142 lbs (assuming 80% of my weight loss was fat), but this isn’t going to happen. Thanks for any insight.

How do you look in the mirror? Did you take tape measurements? I would measure your waist, chest, shoulders, legs, and arms. If your waist goes down while the others stay about the same, you are not losing muscle.

Thank you very much for your response. I have noticed a very positive change in the mirror but have only recently begun tracking my measurements (I naively trusted the scale and BF measurement).

If I presume I am not losing muscle mass and that the water weight was lost near the beginning of my transition, is there anything else that I could be losing at the rate of about 0.5 lbs per week? Or can I presume that it is almost entirely fat if I am lifting weights regularly, eating protein and losing about 0.75-1.25 lbs a week?